Jun 24, 2012
Day 16: Ngorogoro Crater
When we awoke on Day 2 of our safari we were delighted to see the amazing views at our lodge. We had a big breakfast in the dining room and then loaded into the trucks for a day of wildlife viewing in Ngorogoro Crater.
We started at the top of the crater and drove down a long, steep dirt road. From the road we could see the lake, and we could already make out small dots that would prove to be zebras and wildebeests. Soon we stopped at the side of the road to let a large group of zebras past.
As we dipped into the flat area we saw warthogs, more zebras, more wildebeests, Thomson’s gazelles, ostriches, and Egyptian geese. No one in our truck had ever been on safari before, so the novelty of watching the animals in their natural habitat was still extremely thrilling. We would stop to watch one group and then move forward to watch another group.
Soon we came upon what would be our most interesting view of the day: a pair of mating lions. We watched them for quite some time. About every 15 minutes the male lion would stand up and try to mount the female lion. She was not interested at all and each time she showed her teeth until he moved away.
We had lunch near the lake and on the way back saw a lion in a culvert hunting some baby zebras and wildebeest. She did not make her move while we were there, but it was fun to watch her preparing to pounce.
On the way out of the crater we stopped to watch a huge group of baboons. They started climbing onto our jeep until Sylvester scared them away. I caught some video of them.
On the drive back to the lodge we saw a large bull elephant near the road. We parked to watch him, and he got so close to the truck that when he threw dirt in the air it hit us. That was quite a thrill. I have some video of it for you here.
When we got back to the hotel I was exhausted. There wasn’t a day on the Kilimanjaro climb that made me so tired. We ate dinner and went straight to sleep.
